NoOodles!

Meijer recently started carrying several new gluten free products. Among them was this curious little bag of precooked noodles floating around in water waiting to be served. I bought one, not knowing what to expect, but expecting very little. For as convenient as it seemed, there was no way that it could be any good. I used the excuse of my blogging duties here to sacrifice and try these things myself.

I missed the part on the package that said it has zero calories.

Today I decided to try these silly little noodles for dinner, fully intending on cooking a backup meal when they ended up a disaster. The package says to rinse them very well. I wasn't very concerned about that until I smelled them. Backup dinner, get ready...  I rinsed. I cautiously tasted. I liked. NoOodles are good!

So now what? What do I have in my kitchen to make these into a meal or something? I mixed in some Herb Medley seasoning from Cali Fine Foods. Ooh, wonderful! I opened a can of mixed veggies, threw it in the microwave for a minute, and then mixed in some cheese. It can't be that bad, can it?

It was awesome! I really enjoyed my dinner, my one-year-old had fun with the noodles, we both ate our vegetables, and I didn't feel guilty about stuffing myself with something gluten free...... which of course then required some rewarding with leftover Apple Spice Cake made from a 1-2-3 Gluten Free mix.....

The new challenge is to venture back out and discover how much I paid for this stuff. If it's cheap enough, I just may have another tool to use in losing a few (many) pounds!

Guten Free Events

April 9 Farmington Hills, MI Gluten Free Food Fair 10:00am - 2pm First Presbyterian Church of Farmington 26165 Farmington Road Farmington Hills, MI 48334 (248) 474 -6170 Join us and 27 great gluten-free vendors.

April 16 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Memorial Hospital, 615 N Michigan, South Bend, IN. Booths with nutritional information, vendors with G-F products, area restaurants. Workshops about baking G-F, living G-F, Celiac Disease and more. Free conference and free parking in garage. Contact person: Jeannie Derrow, RN: 574-220-5040. For more information: jbderrow@aol.com

April 30-May 1 Chicago Gluten & Allergen Free Expo
 The Wyndham Hotel, Lisle, IL, 8 am - 5pm. Cooking, baking and nutrition classes offered for $175 per day. Price includes classes, gourmet lunch, gift bag of goodies, and entrance to Vendor Fair. Special kids cooking class offered. Vendor Fair with 70+ vendors offered to public for $15 adults and children under 12 free.

May 21 Grand Rapid Gluten Free Food Fair 10 am - 5pm. A new, larger location this year at Deltaplex, 2500 Turner Ave NW, Downtown, Grand Rapids, MI. Given by the CSA chapter of Grand Rapids. Vendor Fair proving samples and coupons. G-F cooking lessons & conferences. Watch the website for the conference schedule postings early April. You must register for a conference and there is a limit of one conference.

September 25 Goshen Gluten Free and Wellness Show 10 am - 2 pm. I.U. Health

Goshen Hospital, Arbor Room, Goshen, IN. Vendors offering samples and selling their products. First 300 guests registered receive a reusable shopping bag full of goodies. Each registered guest will have their name put into a drawing for a gift basket or gift card from a vendor at the show. Must be present to win. Contact: Tanya Trick 574-825-3366. More information: famileslivingwithcd@email.com

October 7-9 Indianapolis Gluten Free Living Expo 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at The Fountains 502 Carmel Drive Carmel, IN 46032 The expo will have vendors offering all kinds of foods, testing items, and informational sessions. Cooking demonstrations will be offered by a few of the vendors. Featured lecturer: Dr. Alessio Fasano, M.D. Center for Celiac Research. I've seen him speak twice and recommend this to anyone who has never seen him before.


Special Thanks to CSA 110 Michiana and Gluten Free Indy for sharing most of this information.

Wall Street Journal: "Clues to Gluten Sensitivity"

I thought this was a well-written and informative article.
There is so much outdated, misunderstood, or just plain incorrect information that is circulated by people who just don't know enough yet, it's nice to see something in a mainstream publication that truly "gets it". They definitely got their info from the right sources. Check it out: Clues to Gluten Sensitivity. The table at the end is a clear illustration of what they are trying to share.

Fort Wayne Celiacs Meeting

The group will meet this Saturday, March 12 at Old Crown on North Anthony.
Amy Radcliff, an Independent Consultant for Homemade Gourmet will be sharing with the group and will demonstrate how to prepare 4 gluten free meals in 4 minutes. Of course, there will be samples. :)

Fruity Pebbles

I've never eaten this stuff, but now that it's gluten free, I somehow felt obligated to buy a box and try it. I also have a box of Cocoa Pebbles, but I haven't come down low enough from the sugar high to try those yet.

SUGAR HIGH!

As a teacher and a parent I find it frightening that THIS is how many children are starting their days. Okay, fine. I'm glad they're eating SOMETHING for breakfast. I'm also glad it contains vitamins and minerals to give them something they need also. BUT WOW!

As a kid, I had the joy of adding sugar to my cereal, especially such flavorful treats as Rice Krispies (soon to be gluten free) and Wheaties or Shredded Wheat (I don't miss those breakfasts!!!). Sometimes I added too much, but that's what kids do, right? Maybe I just don't have the taste buds I had when I first hit double-digits, but a taste of these Fruit Pebbles reminded me of the days when I discovered that you actually CAN add too much sugar to your cereal.

At the risk of sounding like I'm complaining though, I must say that they were quite tasty. My daughter agreed. I just won't be serving them to her for breakfast. I'm thinking desserts.

They're fun straight out of the box, but I think they could be a fun addition to Rice Krispies Treats when the cereal is made gluten free (don't jump on it just yet- Rice Krispies still have that pesky malt flavoring right now). So for now, maybe some Rice Chex treats or Envirokidz Koala Crisp treats with the Fruity Pebbles...... maybe even sprinkle some onto more boring cereals for a splash of color and sugar? Would they be good sprinkled on ice cream? I think they could be.

I'm excited for one more gluten free option available to us; my personal opinion is that it ought to be found in the candy aisle rather than the cereal aisle, however.

Meijer

A lot of gluten free foods are on sale right now at Meijer. I took this opportunity to stock up on some of my favorites like Allergaroo spaghetti and 1-2-3 Gluten Free Brownie and Pan Bar mixes. I think the sale prices last most of the month.

Gluten Free Expo in Chicago

THIS sounds like a fun roadtrip!
I only wish it were on a different weekend...